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Jorge Lorenzo tenth and Andrea Dovizioso thirteenth on day 1 of Italian GP practice at Mugello. Big crash for Michele Pirro during FP2

A difficult Day 1 of free practice action for the Ducati Team in the Italian GP at the Mugello circuit in Tuscany today concluded with its three riders in tenth, eleventh and thirteenth place.

At the end of the two sessions Jorge Lorenzo was tenth with a time of 1’47.691 while team-mate and last year’s winner Andrea Dovizioso, third in the morning’s FP1 session, finished the day three places behind in thirteenth with a lap of 1’47.902.

Ducati Test Team rider and wild-card for this event, Michele Pirro had a horrific crash during FP2. The Italian, second in FP1, lost control of the bike under braking at the end of the straight and crashed badly. Pirro was thrown high off his machine and rolled over a number of times in the gravel trap. Race Direction immediately brought out the red flags and emergency vehicles were rapidly on the scene, transporting Pirro first to the circuit’s Medical Centre, where he was diagnosed with concussion and a dislocated right shoulder, which was put back into place. The rider from San Giovanni Rotondo was then taken to Careggi Hospital in Florence for a full-body scan but no further complications emerged. As always in these cases, Pirro will remain in hospital overnight under observation, at least until tomorrow morning.

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 10th (1’47.691)
“It was quite a positive day because from the morning onwards I was able to be fast and maintain a good pace. In the afternoon we continued to work in the same way: when I put on a soft new rear tyre, I expected to get my time down a lot, but it wasn’t possible because it didn’t have any grip. However we’re on the right path and I hope that tomorrow we can confirm these good feelings. I want to send all my best wishes to Michele, who is not only my team-mate here at Mugello but also a friend and I hope he can recover soon after this big scary moment.”

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 13th (1’47.902)
“For us it was quite a complicated day, starting with this morning. We had good pace but we were unable to see out our scheduled work programme because I had a problem with the bike in FP2 and had to use the other one to finish the session. Unfortunately the rear tyre didn’t have enough grip, and as well as not being able to set a good time, we weren’t able to work the way we wanted to. Michele’s crash was truly horrific and I really hope it was nothing serious.”